Psalm 14:1

14 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

In this week’s article, I am going to stray a little from my usual political commentary and instead engage in some spiritual exposition. In my mind it is impossible to separate secular from sacred anyway. Everything is spiritual and has spiritual implications and consequences. God’s rule extends to all areas of life including government and politics.

Politics is simply a reflection, or an extension, of one’s worldview, ethics, and religion. Everyone has faith in something, even if it is faith that God does not exist. When we truly believe something corresponding actions will follow.

Ultimately, our laws reflect someone’s religious views. The question always is whose views are they and are they correct? Laws inform us as to what society considers right and wrong, good and bad. Our country has abandoned the idea of Scriptural absolutes so what is right today can be wrong tomorrow. What is lawful today may have been criminal yesterday and visa versa. This type of reasoning is a manifestation of our acceptance of evolutionary beliefs.

When a nation jettison’s God’s laws and directives as we have, judgment at some point comes to that nation. America is in that position right now. We, as a nation, have forgotten God and His ways. We are convinced that our ways are better than His. Who needs God anyway? This is the thought behind the increasing intolerance and hostility toward Christianity. Christianity is a constant sore to those who desire that their fallen natures have free reign. You know, if it feels good do it. Eat, drink, and be merry.

Let me share a quick story to make a point here. There was a scientist who one day challenged God. He told God that we didn’t need Him any more and that we could duplicate all His miracles. Man has finally arrived to the point of being a god. This arrogant scientist claimed that we could even create human life. God readily accepted the challenge and told the scientist to proceed and create a human being. The scientist, full of confidence and pride, reached down and picked up a handful of dirt. God said, “Stop, get your own dirt!”

For many years now I have believed and taught that our great country already suffers from God’s judgment. It is upon us now. Thankfully, it has been mercifully slow still giving us time to turn around. Few would argue that we don’t deserve God’s judgment.

Many will remember this famous comment from years ago uttered by Rev. Billy Graham: He said,

Why should America escape God’s judgment if we reject Him as Sodom and Gomorrah did? Can we claim some superiority? Does God owe us something? I don’t think so. If He does owe us anything, He owes us judgment. God never just winks at sin. There is always a price to be paid at some point.

Now here is another question that I’ve wrestled with. How does God get a nation’s attention when it is in danger of His judgment? If God wanted to warn us right now, how would He do it? Let’s explore this question.

First, there is no doubt that America’s founding was a “God thing.” He has blessed, prospered, and protected us for over two hundred years. But, He now sends us warnings that we are off track and in danger of further judgment. He sends preachers and teachers and even missionaries to turn us from our sinful and rebellious ways. Books and magazines have addressed this issue. Countless television and radio programs shout God’s warnings 24/7. For some reason we do not listen.

If we did heed God’s warnings we wouldn’t continue to kill our babies through abortion. At this time over 55 million have perished since 1973 and we will slaughter over a million more in 2012.

We unashamedly promote homosexuality and we redefine the family to allow for various other perversions. There is barely a television show without a homosexual character or theme. Can we still claim we are a “good” nation, a Christian nation?

In Bible times God judged nations and individuals in different ways. Sometimes He would send a prophet or an angel before He sent final judgment. God would offer hope to those who repented. He still offers us hope. We are still here and we have not been destroyed.

God sent Jonah to warn Nineveh and they did repent and God did relent. He sent John the Baptist to warn Israel but they ignored him. They rejected the message and murdered the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Judgment came less than a generation later, in AD70. The Temple was destroyed as were the tribal records and Israel was dispersed. For the Jews of that time it was the end of the age.

At other times, God just judged with little or no warning. As far as we know from Scripture, the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were not warned about their fate. He just destroyed them. He did tell Abraham what he would do, but didn’t warn the citizens of the twin cities.

In Noah’s case, only he was warned, the world was not and the world perished. Only the eight people on the ark survived the flood. Noah was not instructed to warn the inhabitants of the earth because God had already decided to wipe them out.

God in His wisdom decides when He warns or if He warns before He executes judgment. So, we cannot impose on God’s mercy and presuppose that we will get warned before final judgment comes. It will if we don’t repent.

In Bible times God often judged through natural means. He sent a storm and a big fish in the case of Jonah. He sent fire and brimstone in the case of the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He sent a flood in Noah’s day and He sent all kinds of plagues when he judged Pharaoh’s Egypt. In some cases God opened up the earth and swallowed up the disobedient or He sent plagues or devouring fire. Sometimes he even sends horrible leaders. Ummmm, I wonder?

In the case of Nebuchadnessar God sent a dream to warn him. He was told to repent or else. He didn’t and he was judged. He became like an animal for seven years until he finally proclaimed that it was Heaven that rules.

Would He use natural ways to warn us or would he allow an enemy to send a missile or set off an EMP? We don’t know. Sometimes in the past God turned His people over to their enemies. Can you speak Farsi?

Let’s consider these occurrences. In the last five decades we have suffered quite a lot due to natural disasters. During this period we have taken prayer and Bible reading out of the schools. We have legalized abortion, even as birth control. We have finally embraced homosexuality and other perversions.

Are we in the midst of judgment right now? As you read this article we are still recovering from Hurricane Sandy and there is possibly another Nor’easter on the way. People are still suffering over Katrina. Here in North Georgia, in 2011 we were ravaged with a series of tornadoes that almost totally destroyed some towns. Then there were the great Midwest floods of 1993 and 2008. How about all the various disasters that fall upon California? Could any of these be God’s warnings of further judgment?

Do we think in terms of God’s judgment when natural disasters occur? No, only in church would we hear such a thing. Rather we blame it all on global warming or George Bush. The response from too many of our leaders is not that we should repent and acknowledge God, but instead we should suffer a carbon tax to stop the problem. We can fix this.

I will leave you with these inspiring words of Abraham Lincoln when he acknowledged that the Civil War was the result of forgetting God. This one quotation amply sums up my point. I pray that we learn from our former President.

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”